The Ukrainian military said one soldier has been killed in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours, Reuters reports.
According to the news agency, the military revealed early on Wednesday (23 February) that six soldiers have also been wounded in 96 incidents of shelling by separatists in the east during the past day.
It said separatists forces used heavy artillery, mortars and Grad rocket systems.
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The day before, the military also said two soldiers had been killed and 18 wounded in the past 24 hours, according to its Facebook page.
For weeks, Western powers have been bracing for an invasion as Russia massed an estimated 150,000 troops on three sides of neighbouring Ukraine.
They warned an attack would cause massive casualties, energy shortages in Europe and economic chaos around the globe – and promised swift and severe sanctions if it materialised.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered soldiers into the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east to ‘keep the peace’, but the US has dismissed this justification as ‘nonsense’.
US Present Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday (22 February): "To put it simply Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine.
"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion."
Yesterday, the UK’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid echoed this statement, saying that the Russian invasion of Ukraine ‘has begun’ as the UK prepares further sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s country.
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Speaking on Sky News, the Cabinet minister said: "We are waking up to a very dark day in Europe and it's clear from what we have already seen and found out today that the Russians, President Putin, has decided to attack the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity.
"We have seen that he has recognised these breakaway eastern regions in Ukraine and from the reports we can already tell that he has sent in tanks and troops.
"From that you can conclude that the invasion of Ukraine has begun."
Dame Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations, has also said that Russia has ‘brought us to the brink’ of full-scale war, claiming that Putin’s actions ‘will have severe and far-reaching consequences’.
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An invasion – she claimed – would bring forth ‘the forces of war, death, and destruction’ to those in Ukraine.
She said: "The humanitarian impact will be terrible on civilians fleeing the fighting. We know that women and children will suffer most."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: World News